NORWICH ­ – The spotlight clearly showed on growing concerns over safety and bullying at the Norwich City School District Tuesday night during the school board meeting at the high school auditorium.
The issue of bullying and school safety was again brought to the district’s attention last week, after a fight between two high school students ended with one being transported to Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City for treatment of serious injuries. District Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan met with the student and his parents at the hospital last Friday to discuss the incident. Last night, he said it’s a discussion he hopes will never have to happen again.
“We are all reacting to the fights here,” he said to a crowd of concerned parents, students, teachers and community members. “It’s something that’s been on my mind a lot ... If I was a parent, what would I want to know? What would I want to hear from the district? If we take no action, things will continue to get worse.”
O’Sullivan assured that the issue is taken seriously by faculty and administration. In September, all students were notified of the new Dignity for All Act that students must abide by in school and through the use of social media and texting. Since then, cases have been investigated, O’Sullivan explained, and of those investigated, four have led to disciplinary consequences. Even so, physical altercations have climbed to the top of the list of concerns in regards to bullying.
“We will not for a minute tolerate fighting in this building,” he said. “We have programs in place that we’re going to try to expand and modify so we can move forward.”
Vocal music teacher Mary Mayo was part of a collaborative group of teachers, administrators, social workers and guidance counselors who met at the high school Monday to pinpoint common concerns and challenges teachers share when it comes to classroom management, and to discuss a plan of how to handle such issues. She was asked to address the board on behalf of the group.
“Many of us are moving from being reactive to being proactive,” she told board members. She said among educators’ concerns: working parents who have less time to commit to school-related issues; students’ use of cell phones and other electronic devices; mounting state academic mandates that call for teachers to overhaul their curriculum; and new mandates to document behavioral problems in class. “Our focus is on that right now, which may not be in the right place,” she said. “Our first goal should be to establish a safe, focused learning environment ... Teachers and administrators are all feeling the pinch of change, but the focus should be on teaching and learning.” She said hopes are to continue the conversation with administrators in the near future. “We’ve just begun,” she added.
Still, some attendees weren’t satisfied with progress the school has made when it comes to bullying. During a public comment session, many cited occasions of bullying that occurred before last week’s incident and the failure to prevent such incidents from happening again. Some also shared their opinion that school fights are escalating to a dangerous level, even alluding to outside school issues like social media, parenting and economics as a possible root of the problem.
“The problem of bullying in this building has been an issue for several years,” noted Don Chirlin, retired Norwich high school teacher. According to him, the need to find a solution falls in the lap of district leadership. “This goes beyond the responsibility of a few adolescent kids,” he said. “The culture of the building is what we’re dealing with and the solution is not a group of meetings.” His arguments were met with applause.
Other speakers echoed Chirlin, adding that the school has lost all sense of safety. High school cafeteria worker Shirley Emhoff referred to a fight in the cafeteria early in the school year. Since then, she said the bullying epidemic has compromised the safety of students and school employees alike. “We had no control,” she recalled. “Who had control? The kids who were fighting ... When are we going to be the ones in control?”
Students also chimed in, saying that a lack of safety has compromised learning. High school senior John Antonowicz addressed the board wearing a home-made T-shirt that read, “I don’t feel safe at NHS.”
“One of the things that bothers me is [Alternative Instruction Services],” he said. He said he feels that AIS is a melting pot of bullies and serves as nothing more than a way for students to get out of class. “There are a lot of us who don’t feel safe and it’s distracting our education,” he added.
Norwich police officer Brandon Clarke has had a significant presence in the hallways of NHS since the beginning of the year, even more so since last week’s fight. In speaking to the board, he offered his support in any way possible. “We’re asking huge, if not impossible tasks of our teachers,” he said. “There is a lack of responsibility from some parents and what they expect. When students arrive (at school), they bring their problems to the table with them,” he added. He went on to say that the community plays a role in helping the school address the epidemic of bullying and that students should be held accountable for their actions. “We need to raise our children the right way,” he told the crowd. “The school is doing what they can.”
After several other comments, board member Joseph Stagliano urged the board to take action prior to the next meeting in December. “Something needs to be done sooner,” he said to his colleagues. “I don’t want to come back and talk about the problem. I want to see some action.” Other board members followed suit, agreeing to meet sooner.
A special school board meeting has been set for 6:30 p.m., Nov. 27 at the district offices. Additionally, the first meeting of the Building Decision Making Team – an idea formulated in mid-October, prior to last week’s incident – will be at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, at the NHS library. The meeting is a chance for parents, students, faculty, staff and community to bring concerns or ideas to the high school.